Press Release

18 August 2011, Nowshera - Today, UNODC handed over furniture and IT equipment to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police to improve their capacity after the damage caused by the devastating floods in 2010 at a ceremony at the Police Lines Nowshera.

The equipment was purchased with the financial support of the Government of Canada. This equipment complements UNODC's larger flood recovery programme, of which the Government of Canada is the main contributor.

Mr. Yemen SSP Coordination - Peshawar addressed and thanked UNODC and the government of Canada for their support to rebuild law enforcement capacity in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

UNODC appreciated the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police department for being excellent partners in facilitating UNODC throughout the project planning and now its implementation stages.

The district of Nowshera suffered the most serious damage to its law enforcement infrastructure, particularly the destruction of its Police Lines and DPO Office, which were then temporarily shifted to Adamjee Textile mills. The Nowshera Police Lines also experienced some of the most extensive equipment losses, including vehicles, motorbikes, uniforms, weapons and ammunition, and office equipment.

The objective of the assistance is to enhance police capacity to serve the communities, providing important basic public services and ensuring law and order. As part of its flood recovery assistance to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police, UNODC had already handed over pick up vehicles and motorcycles to complement to the transportation losses and has signed a Grant Agreement with the police to assist Nowshera law enforcement in the reconstruction of Police Station Nowshera Kalan, and repairs to Police Station Azakhel and Police Post Kheshki. UNODC will sustain and broaden collaboration with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police to enhance law and order, security, and service to the community.

Prior to procurement of equipment, UNODC performed a detailed assessment of infrastructure and equipment losses as a result of the floods, comprised of preliminary visits to the districts and subsequent technical assessments at most-affected stations and posts.